Anna Clark
I focus on stories rooted in Michigan and the Midwest that have national resonance.
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What I Cover
I’m interested in accountability stories with a connection to Michigan and the Midwest, especially if they involve water, infrastructure and public policy.
My Background
I came to ProPublica after many years as a freelance journalist, writing for national and local publications. My longtime interest in how cities are made and unmade carries into my ProPublica stories, but my reporting is expansive. I’ve written about economic incentives, unmet political promises, policies affecting wrongfully convicted people, investigation delays, lab testing loopholes, questionable practices at a nonprofit college and more.
My book, “The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy,” won the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism and the Rachel Carson environmental book award. It was also a finalist for the Helen Bernstein Book Award and longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal. I edited “A Detroit Anthology” and wrote a book on Michigan’s literary history.
I’ve been a Fulbright fellow in Kenya and a Knight-Wallace fellow at the University of Michigan. I teach in Alma College’s MFA program in creative writing and serve on the board of the Detroit chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists.
I grew up in southwest Michigan and have lived in Detroit for nearly 20 years. More of my background is at www.annaclark.net.
A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?
The nation’s approach to adult education has so far neglected to connect the millions of people struggling to read with the programs set up to help them.
They Trusted Their Prenatal Test. They Didn’t Know the Industry Is an Unregulated “Wild West.”
As regulators stay on the sideline, a growing industry expands its reach but leaves some pregnant patients feeling misled and heartbroken.
One in Five Americans Struggles to Read. We Want to Understand Why.
This is not only an individual hardship but a societal crisis. We want to look at the root causes that make reading inaccessible for so many people.
The Compounding Trauma of Afghan Children in U.S. Shelters
Nearly 200 Afghan children brought here without family by the U.S. government during the haphazard military pullout are languishing in federal custody.
Baker College Threatens Legal Action Against Former Teacher Who Talked to Reporters
Jacqueline Tessmer spoke out about students who left school without jobs or degrees, saying Baker “ruined” lives. And she’s not retracting her statements.
The Nonprofit College That Spends More on Marketing Than Financial Aid
Baker College promises students a better life. But few ever graduate, and even those who do often leave with crushing debt and useless degrees.
Have You Had an Experience With Prenatal Genetic Testing? We’d Like to Hear About It — and See the Bill.
We want to understand more about your interactions with genetic screening providers, such as Progenity, Natera, Harmony and others.
The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis
Criminal charges and a class-action settlement may seem like the last chapter in Flint’s story, but many of the most important reforms at the root of the city’s water crisis remain undone.